


A Christmas Movie Christmas

by Triskel_Samulet



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Stiles Stilinski, Christmas, Coming Out, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Gay Derek Hale, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Pining Derek, Pining Stiles Stilinski, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28076028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triskel_Samulet/pseuds/Triskel_Samulet
Summary: When Derek's New York advertising firm sends him and Erica to his home town of Beacon Hills for a Christmas shoot, the last thing he wanted to deal with was his mother commenting on how he was still single. So Erica agreed to be his fake girlfriend. However, when he ran into the man who made him realize he was gay, he started to wonder if his plan was really a good idea after all.
Relationships: Cora Hale/Isaac Lahey, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Laura Hale/Jordan Parrish
Comments: 33
Kudos: 208





	1. I'll Be Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a quick hallmark fic, but things got out of hand. Due to my desire to show both pov, i decided to go multichapter so I can alternate. Hope you all enjoy and kudos and comments are appreciated!

“Derek! Just the man I wanted to see!” Mr. Carol said as soon as Derek entered the office, “I have great news for you. A client wants to do a shoot in Beacon Hills over Christmas. I figured since it’s your hometown I’d put you and Erica in charge of the shoot. Your travel expenses are covered. Here is your plane ticket. You leave first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you, sir.” Derek said to his boss as he walked away. 

He scowled at the ticket, it’s not that he didn’t love his family, but the holidays always had so much pressure surrounding them. He’d rather stay in New York than have his mom question him about his love life and deal with Laura’s kids running around and climbing all over him. 

It looked like this year he didn’t have a choice, but at least this year he could have work as an excuse. And he would have Erica with him, she’d be a good buffer.

Wait, he’d be going home this year  _ with someone! _ Yeah, Erica was his best friend, but she could actually be the best buffer.

“Erica please!” He begged after he told her his idea, “You know how much my family gets on my case. I’m the only single one left since Cora got engaged last week. Please pretend to be my girlfriend!”

Erica gave him a calculating look, “You owe me an entire batch of gingerbread cookies.”

“Deal!”

“Damn,” Erica commented, “You agreed so fast. I should have set my price higher. What a waste. Oh wait! I’m adding something! You have to wingman for me with Boyd when we come back!”

“Boyd? On the fifth floor?” Erica nodded, “The guy who never talks?” Erica nodded again, “I like him. Deal.”

And this was why they were best friends and worked so well together. He really could not have asked for a better photographer to be paired with.

When he told his parents that he would be in town for Christmas, they insisted he stayed at home. When he said he was bringing someone with him, his mom got so excited, Derek had to hang up because of all the squealing. 

Talia and Sebastian picked them up at the airport and Talia took an immediate dislike of Erica, which made the ride to the house awkward.

“So, how did you two meet?” Talia asked, tightly.

“We met at work,” Erica explained with more enthusiasm than Derek knew she was capable of, “Our company would pair us up on shoots because we both scared away the other options. It turned out we worked together well and then we found out we did other things well together, too.”

She leered at Derek which made him blush. He knew how Erica would be in a relationship (he had heard her stories about her escapades), but he didn’t expect her to be so… that in front of his parents. Talia glared at her until Sebastian forced her into the car. The rest of the drive was spent in stilted silence.

Thankfully, Cora and Laura both absolutely loved Erica. He knew they would get along and would thankfully provide a good buffer between Erica and Tahlia. At dinner, they kept asking Erica questions about their first date and first kiss. He could tell she was having fun with it, so he let her make up whatever she wanted and he just tried to remember as many of the details as he could if anyone asked him in the future. He drew the line when they asked about their first time.

“That is not  _ any _ of your business.” Derek cut in before Erica could come up with something kinky and embarrassing. He got some sympathetic looks from Jordan and Isaac that told him that the two gossip about their sex lives with each other a lot. If this was a real relationship he’d be worried about that, but this would all be over soon.

Talia was alternating between glaring at the girls and looking at Luna and Artemis, who were much too young to be hearing that kind of talk.

“So, are you two going to help us pick out the tree tomorrow?” Sebastian asked, successfully changing the topic. Luna and Artemis were now talking excitedly amongst themselves about finding a truly magical tree.

“Unfortunately we can’t,” Derek answered, “While it’s nice to be home for the holidays, we do have work to do. We have to scout locations for the shoot.”

Talia muttered something about him choosing  _ her _ before they heard the sound of a kick under the table and a stern look from Sebastian. What followed was one of the most uncomfortable silences that stayed for the rest of the meal.

“Derek and I can clean everything up.” Erica offered, trying to win the favor of the family.

“What a nice offer,” Sebastian said, “But you are our guest. You and Derek should head upstairs and unpack. We’ll call you down when it’s time to start tonight’s Christmas movie. Erica, you can choose tonight.”

Derek grabbed both of their bags from the entryway and led Erica upstairs. He was about to put her stuff in the guest room when Cora came barging through and pushed both of them into Derek’s.

“If you sleep together in New York you can sleep together here. I don’t care what mom says. Have fun!” She said before closing the door and leaving them alone.

Derek looked over at Erica and could see her fighting back a smile. That battle didn’t last long as a laugh started coming out.

“Oh my god! This is like one of those horrible holiday romances!” She tried to whisper, “If you swung my way I would think we’d end up together by Christmas!”

“Okay, but my family doesn’t know what way I swing.” Derek said as he moved her away from the door and potential listening ears.

“I still don’t get why you haven’t come out to them. But I don’t care. I’m having way too much fun with this whole thing.”

“I noticed,” Derek rolled his eyes, “You made me sound like a love sick puppy.”

“And you would have sounded even more like a puppy if I had been able to regale our first time.”

“And that’s why I stopped you.”

“Do you think your mom knows?” Erica asked.

“Knows what?” Derek’s eyebrows pinched as he tried to figure out what she was talking about.

“The truth about you… about us?” Erica asked, “She doesn’t seem like one who would be easily deceived.”

“If they didn’t find out about me when I was in high school, then they don’t know about me now.” Derek insisted.

That night they settled in to watch Erica’s movie selection: Elf. Derek rolled his eyes because he knows they are going to have to watch it at least two more times because it’s Laura’s kids’ favorite.

When the movie was over, Laura and Jordan brought their sleeping kids to the car and Isaac left as well. Erica and Derek went upstairs to head for bed. Bed, of which there was only one.

“I don’t mind sharing if you don’t.” Erica said.

Derek shrugged and decided it didn’t really matter and the floor was not going to be a comfortable option, so the two of them snuggled into bed together so they could rest up for a long day of work.

“Come on!” Erica yelled, “You’re wasting daylight!”

“It’s not even noon yet!” Derek yelled back. They had just finished trekking through the preserve looking for shoot locations. The client had said they wanted it to look like a holiday dream come true. Their first thought had been  _ winter wonderland _ but Beacon Hills didn’t really have enough snow to make that possible. Derek made a note to look into fake snow options.

When they emerged back at the house, Erica was making a b-line for the car his family said they could use. Their next stop was to look around downtown Beacon Hills to see if the festive old town look could provide inspiration.

Thankfully Erica had her camera and was taking shots of all the potential locations so that they could compare and contrast later to find the right look.

The only thing that would make downtown Beacon Hills look more christmasy would be snow. There were nutcrackers everywhere, a big tree in the middle of the street, small, locally owned stores all around, and garland hanging on the lampposts.

Erica was already far ahead of him in the crowd of shoppers and he didn’t really have the energy to try and chase her. She’d get the shots they needed and he’d just sort through them later.

Derek was leisurely making his way through the crowd, looking at all the shops he loved to go to when he was a kid. There was old woman Josie’s knick knack shop, Farmer Ted’s produce stand, which in the winter became a stand for festive flowers and wreaths, the Kent family’s card shop, and Claudia’s book and coffee shop. That was where he had spent most of his teen years.

He stopped outside, looking up at the sign, reminiscing about all his time spent there. He was so consumed by it, he didn’t notice the man exiting the shop with arms full of boxes and bags. The man ended up colliding with him, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

“I'm so sorry,” Derek said, “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“No, I’m sorry, dude,” A familiar voice responded, “My packages were stacked too high. I knew I should have listened to Kira and made two trips.”

“Don’t call me dude.” Derek said reflexively. It was then that the familiarity of the voice and his response registered and he looked up at the man for the first time.

He was struck by his big, doe eyes and the moles spotting his pale skin. It was Stiles. Stiles was in front of him. The Stiles. The guy who caused Derek’s sexual awakening and the reason he spent all his time at Claudia’s.

“Stiles-” That was all Derek managed to choke out. He didn’t know what else to say. He was always at a loss for words around Stiles (not that he was very talkative otherwise) and it seemed like the years apart hadn’t changed that.

“Derek!” Stiles exclaimed, “Your family said you’d be in town. Didn’t know if I’d be seeing you.”

“Oh, um, yeah. I’m here.” Well that was eloquent.

“It’s great to see you. I’d love to catch up sometime if-”

“Derek!” Came the squealing of two little girls. The next thing Derek knew, not only was he on the ground, but his nieces were climbing all over him.

“Where are your parents?” Derek asked, but the girls were too busy giggling to answer him.

“Sorry about this,” Derek said, “You were saying something about catching up?”

“I think I got all the shots!” Erica said as she walked up them, not even batting an eye at the chaos of the scene, just simply taking a picture of it.

“Great. We should head to the ice rink next.” That was the last location he could think for holiday magic in Beacon Hills.

“Auntie Erica, can we come too?” Luna asked.

“Yeah! We wanna skate!” Artemis added.

“Let’s ask your parents first, but I’d love for you to join us.” Erica gave them a wink then took their hands to go find Laura and Jordan.

“So, that was… Auntie Erica.” For the first time it seemed like Stiles was as much at a loss for words as Derek was.

“Oh, um, yeah,” Derek responded, “We came here together. We’re staying with my parents.”

“I thought you hated Christmas with your family.” Stiles commented.

“I do. Coming here wasn’t my choice,” They heard a squeal and Derek looked back at Erica and his family where it looked like Jordan and Laura had agreed to let Derek and Erica take the girls to the ice rink. They gave Erica some money to cover the fees for the girls.

Derek turned back to Stiles, “It hasn’t been all bad. So about catching up?”

“Oh um, yeah. Let me give you my number and we can figure out when. I have to get going and finish these deliveries.”

Derek nodded and handed over his phone. This was not something he wanted to miss.

“So who was that?” Erica asked when they were in the car.

“That was Stiles.”

“Wait,  _ the _ Stiles? The one who…” Erica trailed off as she looked in the back seat and saw two very attentive little girls listening, “The one who you… looked up to in high school?”

Derek raised his eyebrow at her euphemism, “Yeah. That’s the one. He gave me his number and we’re going to catch up.”

“You know, if you catch up, you might want to tell people about how much you like… catching up?” Erica cringed at her sad attempt to find subtle words.

“It’s not going to work out anyway so there’s no point.” Derek retorted.

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t it work out?”

“He doesn’t like…  _ catching up _ the same way I do.”

“How do you know?” Erica asked.

“Because all through high school he only wanted to  _ catch up _ with Lydia Martin. And then he  _ caught up _ with a girl named Malia. He’s never  _ caught up _ with a guy before.”

“And as far as he knows you haven’t either,” Erica countered, “You did all your catching up in New York.”

Derek had to admit she made a good point. Maybe that was something they could talk about over coffee. He mulled over that thought as he pulled into the skating rink. 

The four of them ended up having a great time skating around and taking pictures. When they pulled up to Laura and Jordan’s house, Luna and Artemis were sleeping soundly in the back seat.


	2. Christmas Wrapping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all. I'm hoping to have this done by Christmas, but I don't do outlines so I don't know it's over until I have two chapters left... oops?
> 
> Anyway, fun note, the chapter title is for the song Christmas Wrapping, not the activity.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated!

Stiles had been planning on spending this Christmas like all the others; putting in more hours at the store so that they could complete all the deliveries and then the annual Stilinski-McCall Christmas Eve dinner. This was going to be the first year Kira was joining them for that.

However, literally running into Derek Hale changed all of that. This was the man he had been lusting after since he knew bisexuality existed. However it was more than lust. 

He noticed the little things about Derek that others didn’t. Like the fact that he loved classic literature. Almost every day after school Derek would be at one of the tables in the coffee shop reading Shakespeare or Dickens, or even Jane Austen on more than one occasion.

When Derek was with someone he would order black coffee, but if he was alone he would get something sweet and syrupy. He had never dated, and after Lydia and Stiles, he was the smartest kid in their class.

It was a sad day when he found out Derek was going to college in New York. Even sadder when he heard from Cora that he got a job in the city. With a whole country between them, Stiles thought his pining for Derek was even more hopeless than the crush he had on Lydia.

But now Derek was here and he wanted to catch up. They hadn’t really talked much in high school, it was more Stiles sending longing looks to Derek when he wasn’t looking and attending every basketball game when it didn’t conflict with Lacrosse. (Those days their practices overlapped and they shared the locker room will always have a special place in Stiles' memories.)

Derek wanted to spend time with Stiles, and he was ecstatic about that. However, there was that woman that the Parrish girl’s called “Auntie Erica.” And she and Derek were at the ice rink together now, which was Beacon Hills’ number one winter date spot. It seemed like he finally got into the dating game and he found someone who was almost as much of a bombshell as he was.

Stiles shouldn’t be surprised. A guy as hot as Derek could have his pick of anyone. Erica certainly was one lucky lady. Stiles let out a sigh, Derek was straight so it could never be, but they could be friends. Maybe they would be able to keep in touch after Derek went back to New York.

He finished his deliveries feeling a bit dejected at the thought of Derek leaving again. He was glad to finally have an excuse to talk to Derek, but the idea of him leaving again so soon left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He walked back into the bookstore after the deliveries and saw Kira behind the coffee counter and saw his mom wandering amongst the stacks, talking to customers and directing them to the right books.

He made a beeline for the coffee counter and sat down with a groan.

“It wasn’t that bad of a delivery this time.” Kira said.

“No, but you’ll never guess who’s back in town.” Kira gave him a questioning look as she made a caramel mocha for him, “Derek Hale.”

“Wait, your Derek?” She asked.

“He’s not my Derek.” 

Kira rolled her eyes, “He will be soon if he’s here.”

“No, because he’s Erica’s Derek.”

“Wait, who is Erica?” She put the finished cup in front of Stiles and he took a big sip before answering.

“He met her in New York,” Stiles explained, “Don’t know what their relationship status is exactly, but he brought her home for Christmas and Luna and Artemis called her ‘Auntie Erica,’ so I’d venture to say they are intimately involved.” 

“I’m sorry Stiles,” He knew she was being genuine, “Maybe you’ll be able to get over him now. There are a lot of great guys and girls out there who would love to date you.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Kira gave him a stern look, “I gave him my number. Asked him to catch up.”

“You need to stop doing this to yourself.”

“What do you mean stop? This is the first time I’ve done this!”

Just then Claudia walked up, “Now what has you two in such a fuss?” She asked.

“Stiles is going after a man who is already taken.” Kira said, raising an eyebrow as if to challenge Stiles to contradict her.

“I’m not going after him,” Stiles said, “We knew each other in high school. We’re just going to catch up. No romantic espionage involved.”

“This isn’t the Hale boy, is it?” Claudia asked.

Stiles hung his head in shame as his face grew red.

“Well it turns out Talia doesn’t like her very much,” She commented, “She was telling me about her when she was in here earlier. Maybe she’ll scare the girl off and you’ll have a chance.” She gave her son a wink before leaving to help more customers find the right book for their loved one’s Christmas gift.

Stiles just sat there, sullenly drinking his coffee. This Christmas was going to be a lot harder than he had anticipated.

He was just turning the sign to  _ close _ when his phone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a text from an unknown number.

**Unknown:** _ Hey, it’s Derek. _

Wow. This guy actually used proper punctuation in texts. He would expect nothing less from the closet nerd.

**Stiles:** _Hey Derek how was ice skating?_

No, Stiles did not use proper punctuation in texts because who had time to care about that? Almost immediately a reply came.

**Derek:** _ Luna and Artemis had fun, but Erica actually made me skate. :/ _

Did Derek just use a typed out emoji? What decade was this.

**Stiles:** _YOU WENT ICE SKATING BUT DIDN’T WANT TO SKATE?!?!?!?!?!?!_

No, Stiles is not ashamed for his use of all caps. Taking your girlfriend (fiance?) and nieces ice skating with no intention of skating in a crime. A CRIME!

**Derek:** _Skating isn’t my strong suit, but the girls had fun and Erica claims she got some really great shots. I’m looking forward to seeing them._

**Stiles:** _ Well I’m glad you stepped out of your comfort zone _

**Derek:** _Speaking of stepping out of my comfort zone, I guess it’s up to me to initiate that catching up?_

Now that comment confused Stiles. What part of this was him stepping out of his comfort zone? Did he really not want to talk to Stiles? If that were the case they wouldn’t be texting in the first place.

Maybe he’s bad with people? That can’t be it, he managed to land a bombshell and he’s seen the guy with his family; he is warm and open. Okay, maybe he wasn’t that way with the kids in high school. Come to think of it he was sort of a loner. Sure he sat with the basketball team at lunch, but he never really seemed to join in on their conversations and he spent all his time at the book shop.

He was getting off track.

**Stiles:** _ I would love to catch up. Would sometime tomorrow work? It’s my day off. I can meet you wherever _

Did that sound too desperate? No, that’s a normal thing to say when catching up with an old aquantense. He was totally over thinking this whole thing and it was totally going to blow up in his face later.

**Derek:** _ Does three work for you? I was hoping to visit the book shop while I was in town, but I understand if you don’t want to go there on your day off. I’m up for other suggestions. _

In all honesty, Stiles would love to go somewhere else on his day off, but Beacon Hills had a limited number of places one could casually catch up. His mom’s shop really was the best for that, and he knew Derek had a lot of memories there.

**Stiles:** _ The book shop works. I’ll see you then! I’m looking forward to it. _

“Are you going to help clean up, or are you just going to make googly eyes at your phone while your mother does all the work?” Claudia asked.

“I would never leave you to do all the work,” Stiles said, placing his hand over his heart in mock offence, “I know Kira is still here to pick up my slack!”

“Hey!” Kira yelled as she threw a dirty towel that she had been rubbing the counter with at him.

Stiles laughed as he caught it and started cleaning up the tables in the cafe area. This time of year it was always dirtier than normal because apparently people were in too much of a rush to get their shopping done that they don’t have time to throw away their trash.

Derek would throw away his trash. Erica probably would, too, because Derek wouldn’t be with someone who was so inconsiderate.

Great, now he was thinking about Derek again. Hopefully after they catch up and Derek goes back to New York, Stiles will be able to move on and find a nice local guy or girl to settle down with.

That thought made Stiles audibly scoff, earning him odd looks from his mother and Kira. His scoff still stood; there was no one left in town that wanted to date Stiles or whom Stiles wanted to date. As long as he stayed in Beacon Hills, he was doomed to be a spinster.

That night, when Stiles entered his little studio apartment he began to ponder his life. The only reason he had stayed in Beacon Hills was to help his mom out at the store, but now she had Kira to help, along with all of the high schoolers in need of part time jobs.

He knew he was able to get a better job, he had double majored in archeology and library sciences. Any museum would be lucky to have him, so why did he stay?

His apartment was small and dingy. He only got it so he would have a sense of independence, and with what the shop paid him, he couldn’t afford much better on his own. With a museum job he could afford a nice place.

He sat down and opened his laptop and started browsing for job openings outside of Beacon Hills. He didn’t want to leave his family, but he knew that was what’s best for him. Hopefully they would understand and support his decision. And if he happened to look more at jobs in New York, well that was nobody's business but his. Maybe he’d even have a friend to show him around town. That would be much better than trying to navigate a new environment by himself. He was just being practical. 

Yeah, randomly picking New York was very practical. The city had a lot of museums to apply to, so it was super practical. Besides, New York was so big, he probably would run into Derek and Erica unless it was preplanned. And there were lots of singles in New York, unlike Beacon Hills.

This was a good choice, Stiles told himself. Moving to New York would be a good thing, right?


	3. Baby it's Cold Outside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a lot longer to get out than I intended. I had a friend visiting and I work in retail which is a nightmare this time of year.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy Derek and Stiles' ~~date~~ um... catching up...
> 
> As always kudos and comments are appreciated!

“What’s on your phone that’s got you so smiley?” Erica asked as they crawled into bed, “You were glued to it through the entire movie and now you keep making goo-goo eyes at it.”

“I’m meeting Stiles tomorrow,” Derek explained, “He’s excited about it.” He couldn’t help the wide grin that overcame his face. He would be at the bookshop, not stealing glances at Stiles, but actually talking to him and getting to know him better. It was all he’d ever wanted!

“Wait, tomorrow?” Erica asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Tomorrow is cookie baking day! Talia’s been droning on about all the different types we need to make. It’s an all day thing!”

“Shit. I forgot how much goes into a Hale family Christmas,” Derek rubbed his hand over his face, “Do you think you could distract them? Just for an hour or two?”

“I can’t just distract them,” Erica rolled her eyes, “I’m only here because of you and your mom hates me. She’s going to notice you leaving and her being stuck with me.”

“Please think of something?” Derek begged.

“Fine, lover boy. I’ll tell them you went to catch up with a friend, which is true, and that I wanted to have some bonding time with the women in the family. And trust me, we will have bonding time. You owe me your embarrassment for this.”

“Deal.” Derek grumbled before plugging his phone in and placing it on the nightstand and settling in for the night's sleep.

The next day it proved harder to sneak out than he had initially planned. After lunch, Talia was insistent that he stay to bake cookies and no excuse he could come up with could sway her to the contrary.

“Mom, I already made plans!” Derek insisted.

“You have spent barely any time with us since you got here. You are baking cookies.”

“It’s too late to cancel, you raised me to be more considerate than that!” Derek tried again.

“I also raised you to be more considerate than leaving your family alone with a stranger. If you insist on going, you have to take that woman with you.” Talia glared over his shoulder where he knew Erica was waiting.

“I was actually looking forward to baking with all of you and getting to know each other without Derek hovering around.” She sent him a reassuring look before focusing back on Talia.

“It would mean a lot to me if you two took this opportunity to get to know each other better.” Derek knew he was laying it on thick, but it was already 2:45. If he didn’t leave now, he was going to be late.

“And just who are you meeting up with, who is more important than your family and girlfriend?” Talia asked.

Derek just barely refrained from rolling his eyes at her theatrics.

“Stiles Stilinski.” Erica answered, not even bothering to correct her on the level of importance. That traitor.

Talia gave them each a calculating look before saying, “If you are meeting him at the shop, tell his mother I say hello and make sure to extend an invitation to our Christmas Eve party.” She then grabbed Erica by the arm and dragged her into the kitchen.

Derek stood in shock, looking at where the two women disappeared. He then shook his head and made his way to the car. While the behavior was strange, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He was finally getting his long awaited talk with Stiles.

When he walked into the shop, he saw Stiles sitting at a table in the far corner with two drinks in front of him.

“You ordered me a drink?” Derek asked as he sat down.

“Peppermint mocha with extra chocolate drizzle,” Stiles said, “You ordered it a lot in high school, so I took an educated guess.” It could be a trick of the lighting or Derek’s own wishful thinking, but he could have sworn Stiles was blushing a little.

He took a sip and let out a moan, “Stiles, this is perfect. Thank you.” And if Derek’s eyes weren’t deceiving him, Stiles blush got darker.

“So, how have things been in Beacon Hills since I left?” Derek asked. Stiles blinked at him for a bit, seemingly not processing the question.

“Stiles?” Derek asked.

“Beacon Hills!” Stiles said, “Yes, um, it’s been good. Scott just got engaged to Kira, who works the cafe side of things. My dad retired this year, so mom and I can breathe a sigh of relief that he’s not going to get shot on the job. Other than that, things are pretty much the way you left them.”

Derek nodded. He had heard of the sheriff’s retirement because he had endorsed Jordan for sheriff and he ended up winning the election.

“I understand how stressful the wellbeing of you father must have been. Laura tried to hide it, but she feels the same for Jordan.”

“What about you?” Stiles asked, “How’s life in the big city?”

The question gave Derek pause. He didn’t really have a life in the city. He often would work late until Erica begged him to get a social life, then she would drag him somewhere, she would abandon him for a hookup, and that would be his outing for the season.

“New York is… New York. It’s crowded and cold and smells awful,” Derek explained, “To be honest, I work so much that I don’t really have time for a social life.”

“But you have time for Erica.”

“Well, she’s my photographer, so we get to spend a lot of time together at work. With the long hours it’s nice that we can endure them together.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

That was where the conversation paused. Since they didn’t really talk in high school, neither knew the right questions to ask when the conversation dwindled. Derek remembered Stiles having a constant stream of rambling, so it was weird seeing him so awkward and silent.

“Um, my mom,” Yeah, mentioning his mom is really going to set the mood, “She asked me to invite you and your family to our annual Christmas Eve party.”

“Oh yeah!” Stiles responded, “We go every year. It’s kind of nice that there is an event that people get dressed up for. It’s fun to see people try to look red carpet ready, but also festive?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve gone, but I remember people going all out. Especially the Martins.”

“Oh yeah! All those reds and greens and yet somehow they still look good.” Stiles commented, which rubbed Derek the wrong way.

“So… is that… still a thing?” Wow. Very eloquent and not a weird thing to ask.

“Oh, well Lydia and I went to college together,” Stiles explained, “We tried dating the first semester, mostly because we only knew each other. We decided we were better as friends. She’s married now, to Malia actually. My ex’s decided they liked each other better than they liked me.”

“They are extremely stupid then.” The words came out before Derek even realized what he was saying. Once it processed, Derek could feel the warmth of a blush spread across his face and to the tips of his ears.

Stiles smiled and blushed a little at the compliment, “Not really. Malia and I didn’t fit together and neither did Lydia and I. But seeing the two of them together, and knowing I’m the one that introduced them… it’s nice.”

“So, Lydia found Malia… have you found anyone?” Please say no, Derek silently begged.

“No. Danny and I tried a little bit after Lydia and I broke up. You remember Danny?” Derek nodded. This was the first time he had ever heard of Stiles being interested in a guy. Did this mean Derek actually had a chance?

“Well yeah. Danny and I dated, but then Jackson came back to town and Danny had always been in love with him, so it was for the best.” Stiles finished explaining, but Derek’s head was reeling. Stiles wasn’t straight and he was single! He had to make a move, but how?

Just then his phone went off with a text alert. He ignored it in favor of thinking about how to hit on Stiles. Then his phone went off again and again and again.

“Are you going to check that?” Stiles asked.

“Um, yeah. Just one second.” Derek took out the phone and looked at his texts.

**Laura:** _ Erica did her own interpretation of gingerbread men. Mom is furious. _

**Cora:** _ Mom is going to murder your girlfriend. _

**Laura:** _ Mom is way too close to the knives and Erica is not backing down. _

**Cora:** _Get here soon or you’ll have a funeral to attend instead of a girlfriend._

“I am so sorry,” Derek said and he genuinely was, “There’s an emergency and I have to go.”

“I understand,” He looked a little upset, but his face wasn’t giving anything away concretely, “Do you mind if I walk you to your car?”

“I’d love that!” Derek responded a little too quickly and too enthusiastically.

Stiles smiled and the two of them got up from the table and walked to the door. As soon as they got to the doorway, Claudia appeared.

“You two are standing under the mistletoe! You know what that means!”

Derek knew he could get away with a kiss on the cheek and that’s what people were expecting him or Stiles to do, but he looked in the other man’s eyes and knew he wouldn’t be passing up this opportunity.

However, before he could make his move, Stiles’ lips were already on his, so Derek opened his mouth in order to deepen it. All too soon Stiles was pulling away. Derek opened his eyes and saw the other man was blushing.

“You um… need to get going?” It was obvious that was not what Stiles wanted to say, but Derek just nodded and walked outside with him. He could feel Stiles melting into the kiss. It was both everything he had dreamed it would be and nothing like he had ever imagined.

When they did finally break apart Derek said, “I really do have to go.”

He gave Stiles a final peck on the lips before climbing into his car and going to put out whatever fire Erica and Talia managed to create.


	4. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Stiles stood dumbstruck, watching as Derek drove away. He reached up and let his fingers brush his lips, where moments before Derek’s lips had been. Derek had kissed him. And not just a mistletoe kiss.

He wandered back into the bookshop with the same zoned out, but happy expression on his face. He sat at the table that just moments before Derek had been sitting at as well. What the hell happened?

“Stiles, honey, what’s wrong?” Claudia asked.

“He kissed me.” Stiles stated numbly.

“Yes, dear, we all saw it?” It was then that he looked up and saw Kira standing behind his mother with a concerned expression.

“No, at his car,” Stiles explained, “He kissed me for real.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Kira asked.

“It would be if he didn’t have a girlfriend,” Stiles grumbled, “I’ve been in love with him since I knew what bisexuality meant, and even then I had probably loved him before then and was just too stupid to realize it. As much as I want this, I refuse to be a homewrecker.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t be.” Claudia said, with her trademark mischievous look that told everyone she was up to something, but that she was also holding all the cards and couldn’t be stopped. Man, did Stiles aspire to be just like her.

“What do you know?” Stiles asked.

“Oh, nothing much,” Claudia feigned, “Just that Talia’s mentioned to me that Derek had never expressed interest in a woman before and now suddenly he has a girlfriend whom he had never mentioned before? Seems a bit odd, don’t you think? Oh, Mr. Johnson. I have your books set aside for you. Let me grab them.”

And with that, Claudia was gone and it was just Kira and Stiles. 

“Do you know what she’s talking about?” Stiles demanded.

“I can’t keep a secret to save my life, of course I don’t know.” Kira rolled her eyes and went back to the coffee counter, leaving Stiles alone with his thoughts.

Did he really have a chance with Derek? After all this time? Could Derek truly be gay? Sure, Stiles had wondered- had hoped- but since he had never dated  _ anyone _ it was more likely that he was ace.

He obviously wasn’t ace after a kiss like  _ that! _ A kiss that held so much promise of  _ more _ ! But where did that leave Erica? And since there was an Erica, where did that leave Stiles?

To distract himself, he decided to go home, put on a christmas movie, and do some more job hunting. The christmas movie turned out not to be such a good idea since most christmas movies were romances. He kept picturing him and Derek in these different scenarios and it just made him want that even more.

He looked at his email, hoping to find something that was more intriguing than the mistletoe kiss happening on screen. One of the first emails in his inbox was from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He had only sent in his application, resume, and cover letter the day before. Maybe they were just letting him know the position was filled. Curiosity peaked, Stiles opened the email.

_ Dear Mr. Stilinski, _

_ We have reviewed your application materials and would love to schedule an interview to discuss this position further and to see if you are the right fit for us, as well as us being the right fit for you. _

_ We understand that with your current living situation an in person interview will not be available right now, we do require an in person interview for the second rounds. Are you available for a call around 7EST? We are aware this is unorthodox due to the holidays, but we are on a tight schedule to fill this position. _

_ Please let us know as soon as possible, _

_ Rudolf Cringle _

They wanted to interview him? And so soon? Stiles couldn’t believe it. He emailed back saying he would be available and reminded them of his phone number. 7 for them would be 4 for him. He would be able to smash this interview and then go on to possibly smash Derek-

NO! There would not be any Derek smashing while Erica was still around. Stiles refused to be the other woman. He had dignity after all… or at least he liked to pretend he did. But the point still stood; while he didn’t actually know Erica, nobody deserved to be cheated on. And if Derek would cheat on somebody, then Stiles didn’t want to be with him. It was as simple as that.

So, no smashing Derek… yet… But the interview was going to be amazing. Stiles decided he wasn’t going to tell anyone about it yet, because he didn’t want to deal with the emotions of moving until it was a for sure thing and if people knew now they would assume the decision had been because of Derek.

When he went to bed that night, it was to dreams of life in New York. He was leaving the museum and met up with Derek in Central Park. As the two of them walked around in marital bliss, they ran into Erica whose face was stained in tears. 

“It’s all your fault,” She cried, “You stole him from me.”

Then everyone in the park was staring at them, giving them disapproving looks, and in some instances even booing. His happy ending had turned into a horrible nightmare.

Stiles woke up in a cold sweat. It was early, but he knew he was making deliveries today so he decided to get up and get an early start. He knew he needed to keep moving in order to distract himself from his thoughts.

The downside was he could never turn off his brain and it had decided to hyperfocus on his nightmare and the implications of Derek and New York.

It didn’t help when Mrs. Snow asked if he had found that special someone yet.

By the time he got back to the shop it was two in the afternoon. He had been so distracted by personal drama he had almost forgotten to prepare for his interview. Stiles asked his mom if he could go home early. From the glimmer in her eye, Stiles figured she assumed he wanted time to look nice for the party tonight, and that was partially true.

He spent the two hours before his interview researching the museum and brushing up on his knowledge of american anthropology. His efforts were not in vain as he ended the call with a second interview scheduled for the fourth of the new year.

After booking a flight and hotel, he looked at the time and saw it read 5:00, which meant people would be arriving at the Hale’s for pre dinner cocktails. If he got ready now, he would be fashionably late.

He changed into a pair of black dress pants that complimented his ass quite well, and a red button down with the sleeves rolled in order to show off his arms. He just wanted to look good. If you look good, you feel good. That was all.

It was 5:30 when he walked outside to his jeep. There he saw that it had been raining earlier as there was a wet sheen over all the cars in the parking lot. He got in his jeep and turned on the heat immediately. He switched on the whippers, but noticed there was a thin layer of ice that wasn’t being removed.

Since snow and ice weren’t really common, he didn’t have anything to scrape it off with. He got out and tried to use his jacket. He managed to get some of it, but not all. He decided that was good enough, as he didn’t want to be too late to the party.

During the day, the drive to the Hale house was quite beautiful and peaceful, but at night it was more difficult to navigate the backroads. Since Stiles was running late, he was going a little over the speed limit. He slowed down once he got to the preserve, but only just.

As soon as he entered the preserve, his jeep hit a patch of ice that was hidden in the dark of the night and his car went careening into the preserve.


	5. Silent Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my goal of being done by Christmas didn't happen. I ended up losing wifi on Christmas Eve and didn't get it back until now. I was going to post the last two chapters on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
> 
> Anyway, comments and kudos are always appreciated.

Derek had spent all day preparing for the party. He knew it had to go smoothly so that he could properly woo Stiles and come clean about the whole mess he had gotten himself into. He knew Erica would be supportive, she already had been through all of this, but he wasn’t sure how his family would react.

He would like to think that nothing would change once he came out, but he did spend the holiday season actively deceiving them. He hadn’t trusted them enough to come clean, and he knew that would hurt his family. Even though they would most likely accept him for who he was, they would not be able to accept what he had done.

It was something he was going to have to live with. After spending time with Stiles,  _ kissing _ Stiles, Derek knew he would never be able to go back to how his life was before. Maybe he could convince Stiles to move to New York with him, or maybe he could move back to Beacon Hills. Either way Derek was willing to do whatever it took to make it work between them.

He was looking at himself in the mirror, trying to get his hair just right, but nothing was working. Erica jumped on him from behind and messed up all his hard work.

“What the hell are you doing?” Derek yelled, “I spent an hour on that!”

“It looked awful,” Erica stated bluntly, “Now you look well fucked!”

“But then he’ll think we fucked!” Derek turned back to the mirror and tried in vain to fix his hair again, but it was a lost cause at this point.

“You’re going to come clean, right?” Derek nodded, “Then he’ll know we didn’t fuck and that you want to fuck him. Simple.”

Derek looked in the mirror again and nodded slowly before stealing himself to face his family. He wanted to tell them before everyone arrived so that he didn’t make a big scene with his announcement. Then he would take Stiles somewhere private to talk to him.

He and Erica made their way downstairs where most of the family was in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the meal for that night. Derek cleared his throat to try and get their attention, but he wasn’t loud enough. He tried again, but had the same results. The next thing he knew, Erica let out a loud whistle and everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at the apparent couple.

“Um, I have something I need to say.” Derek started.

“Please tell me you two aren’t engaged.” Cora said. Erica tried and failed to stifle a laugh.

“Sorry.” She whispered before pushing him farther into the room.

“No. It’s the opposite actually.” He tried again.

“Wait, you two broke up?” Laura interrupted.

“What? No.”

“So you’re still together?” His mother’s displeasure was clear on her face.

“No! We’re not,” Derek took a deep breath, “We were never together. I’m gay.”

He looked at everyone’s faces to try and gauge their reactions, but most of them just shrugged it off and continued what they were doing.

“Did you not hear me?” He asked, “I’m gay.”

“Yes, we knew that, Dear.” Talia said as she pat him on the cheek before going to check on the roast.

“What the hell?” Derek whispered to Erica.

“Told you it wasn’t going to be a whole thing,” Erica rolled her eyes, “Now help me with the cookies!” She dragged him over to where the Parish girls were finishing with the icing.

“When did they know?” He asked.

“Um,” Erica paused to think, “Talia said she knew when you cared more about Prince Philip than Aurora. Laura knew as soon as you hit puberty. Cora realized after you kept dragging her to the book shop. Oh! And Sebastian said he figured it out when he found your porn stash. You know, under the mattress is not a very subtle hiding place.”

Derek could feel his face heating up at that last comment.

“Oh, and you only told them part one of your wonderful reveal.” Erica smiled before she left with a tray of cookies in each hand.

“Um, I had something else I wanted to tell you all, too.” Derek swallowed hard as his family once again turned to look at him, “I plan on telling Stiles everything tonight. And if he’ll have me, I’ll discuss possible relocation ideas because I know long distance doesn’t work and I don’t want to lose him.”

Talia gave him a soft smile and pulled him into a hug, “I’m so glad you are finally comfortable with yourself and making a move on Stiles. You two are perfect for each other.”

“It definitely helps that your mother has always wanted the Stilinski’s as in-laws.” Sebastian laughed as he patted his son on the shoulder.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” He could see the hurt in Laura’s face and hear it in her voice.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Derek shrugged, “At first I wasn’t sure what it was. Then Danny came out and he was the first person at school to do so. I hadn’t really thought about it like that before. I just knew that I didn’t look at girls the same way the guys did. After Danny I connected dots and realized that was how I looked at Stiles. Since I never acted on it I guess I never felt the need to tell anyone.”

“Why the deception with Erica?” Cora asked.

Derek shrugged again, “Anytime I came home mom would ask if I was seeing anyone and I hated those questions. I realize now she never specifically said girlfriend, but with Laura being married and Cora being engaged now, I felt like those questions would be more overbearing this year. I didn’t want to deal with it.”

“Derek, honey,” Talia started, “When I asked those questions, it wasn’t an attack on you being single. I was trying to give you an opening to come out to us. I’m so sorry for how it came across.”

“I know that now,” Derek said, “I’m sorry for not saying something sooner.”

His family came around him and gave him a big hug and then something occurred to him.

“When did you all talk to Erica about this?”

His family sheepishly separated.

“When you were out with Stiles I might have scolded her for being with an obviously closeted gay man. She came clean and then we all did. We were only playing along for your benefit.” Talia explained. Derek just laughed at the absurdity of it all.

That evening, Derek waited anxiously for Stiles to arrive. Each time someone would come, Derek would perk up only to deflate when he saw it wasn’t Stiles.

Five minutes before dinner was scheduled to start, the sheriff and his wife arrived. Derek immediately approached them.

“Where’s Stiles?” He asked in lieu of a greeting.

“We thought he would be here already.” Noah said.

“I wouldn’t be too worried,” Claudia said, “He has a thing for being fashionably late. It allows him to show up Lydia.” She gave him a sweet smile and a reassuring touch before they went to great Sebastian and Talia.

Derek sighed and went to get his coat. If Stiles was going to be late, then maybe they could have that talk before he even entered the party. With that thought he went to sit on the front porch and enjoyed watching the soft snowfall. It really was beautiful.

After half an hour Erica came out with two mugs of hot chocolate.

“He’ll be here.” She reassured him as her head settled on his shoulder.

Derek grunted in response. He knew she was most likely right, but he had a sinking feeling that something was wrong. As he had been sitting on the porch, the snowfall had gotten heavier and the temperature had dropped. While they were in northern California, they still weren’t used to driving in the snow.

Derek pulled out his phone and tried to call Stiles, but there was no response. He got up and pulled Erica with him. He marched in, right to where the Stilinski’s were sitting at the table.

“I need Stiles’ address.” He stated bluntly.

Claudia and Noah exchanged confused and concerned looks.

“He’s still not here and he’s not answering his phone.”

Noah nodded, “Claudia, you stay here. Derek, with me.”

Derek followed the sheriff out to his car and climbed into the passenger seat. Due to the weather, they moved through the preserve slowly. It was then that they heard a crash somewhere ahead of them. 

When they got there, they saw the jeep had hit a tree head on. Derek jumped out of the car and rushed over to the jeep. He saw the airbags hadn’t deployed and Stiles was slumped over the steering wheel, his head bleeding.

He pulled Stiles out and got into the back seat of the sheriff’s car with him. Noah put the sirens on and rushed them to the hospital.


	6. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The end is here ! Enjoy!

Stiles woke up slowly. He wasn’t sure what happened and he was even less sure that he was able to open his eyes. There were people talking around him, but he couldn’t tell who or make out what they were saying. He was soon drifting back into unconsciousness.

The second time Stiles woke up it was easier. He was in a dark room and there was a steady beeping. He looked around and noticed he was hooked up to some machines, which were the source of the beeping. 

Looking around he had to do a double take at the chair next to his bed. He had been expecting it to be empty this late at night, maybe one of his parents sleeping there. Instead, he saw the sleeping form of Derek Hale.

How was Derek Hale in his hospital room this far past visiting hours? Why was he there? What the hell happened while he was unconscious? Why had he been unconscious? Why was Stiles in the hospital in the first place? What the hell?

He panic made the heart rate monitor go crazy and the next thing he knew there was a doctor trying to calm him down and a nurse shooing Derek out of the room.

Stiles watched Derek as he was pushed out of the room with an expression that could only be described as concern. Once Derek was gone, Stiles tuned in to what the doctor was trying to say and managed to calm down.

He had been in a car accident. There were no major injuries, just a concussion. He had only been out for a few hours. His dad and Derek had found him and brought him in. Why had Derek been with his dad?

After passing his check up, the doctor and nurse left him to sleep, but the nurse said she would be back in a few hours to make sure he didn’t slip into a coma.

He couldn’t sleep, though. His thoughts were haunted by Derek. The man didn’t come back that night, but that was probably by order of the hospital staff. The next morning his parents, Scott, Kira, Lydia, and Malia all crowded his hospital room.

He was grateful to see them, but after a night of no sleep it had been a little overwhelming. After lunch they all left so that he could get some rest.

When he woke up, Derek was sitting in the chair again. He hadn’t noticed that Stiles woke up.

“Hey,” Derek started at the noise.

“You’re awake!” The man exclaimed.

“Um, yeah,” Stiles moved so he was more sitting than laying, “What are you doing here?”

“Where else would I be?”

“Where else would you be?” Stiles stared at Derek in disbelief, “Derek, we caught up once since you came back. Yeah, we kissed, but you have a girlfriend. You should be with her.”

“But I don’t have a girlfriend.” Derek insisted.

“I’ve met her!” Stiles yelled. This caused a rise in blood pressure, so their conversation was postponed while the nurse checked Stiles’ vitals.

Once she left Derek explained, “Erica is my best friend and co-worker. She agreed to help get my parents off my back for being single.”

“That’s the kind of thing that only happens in the movies.” Stiles scoffed.

“And to me,” Derek laughed, “The worst part was we came here for work. The project was due yesterday and I was so wrapped up in my feelings for you that I missed it.”

“No you didn’t!” Came a voice from the doorway. It was none other than Erica the… not girlfriend? “I sent these in to the boss. Thought you both might want to see them.”

She booted up her laptop and placed it on Stiles’ table. She flipped through some pictures of Derek alone in the preserve. Then some nice shots of Derek in town, and Derek and Stiles colliding and reuniting in town. Pictures of Derek’s nieces climbing on him, of them at the ice rink. And finally of Derek and Stiles kissing under the mistletoe.

“Claudia and Kira helped with that last one,” Erica commented, “The important thing is the client loved the concept of a holiday love story for the ad. Now I’ll leave you two to finish the real one.”

She gave Derek a quick wink before leaving.

“What the hell is happening?” Stiles asked.

“Um,” Derek’s cheeks became adorably pink, “I’m gay. You actually caused my sexual awakening and I’d love to start a relationship with you, if that’s something you would want to do.”

Stiles took a minute to process that.

“I’d also be willing to move back here to make that possible,” Derek continued, “There are probably some great advertising firms out here and-”

“No.” Stiles interrupted. Derek looked like Stiles had just kicked his puppy.

“Ok, I’ll just go then.” Derek got up to leave, but Stiles stopped him.

“Not what I meant,” He took a deep breath, “I had a job interview on Christmas Eve. It was for a museum in New York. I meant you don’t have to move here because I’m already planning on moving there. I’d love to go out with you, Derek Hale.”

And just like that Derek was kissing him again, which made his heart rate monitor skyrocket and the nurse had to come in and separate the two of them. Derek was never allowed to visit again for the rest of Stiles’ stay, which thankfully was just for the rest of the day.

No one raised an eyebrow at the fact that Derek stayed at Stiles’ apartment for the rest of his stay in Beacon Hills to “make sure Stiles was ok.”


End file.
